


What We Found

by icecoldwlw



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Crime Fighting, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Future Fic, Girls in Love, Kissing, Memories, Robot mutilation, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 10:32:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17078669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icecoldwlw/pseuds/icecoldwlw
Summary: Adora, Catra, Glimmer and Bow are sent to fight one of the Horde's last-resort robot armies, designed by Entrapta.Throughout the fight, Adora is reminded of Catra, their past and their present.





	What We Found

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first She-Ra fic, so I'm sorry about characterisation. I mostly focused on banter. Expect another coming out soon after I update my mmjr fic.

“Adora! On your left!” Catra called from the sky, sailing down in a dive-like position to subdue yet another robot.

Adora snapped her head to the side, bringing up her sword just in time. Jagged and worn metal met the magic equivalent of titanium, causing a loud clang.

Adora brought the sword back down, twisting it inwards and impaling the pawn robot through its shining core.

“Thanks!” She responded, glancing over at Catra with a large smile. They locked eyes for a second, cheeks pinkening before breaking away and focusing on their battle.

The pair were engaged in combat with the Horde’s robot unit. They were mass-produced by an engineering zone in the Horde, and their design was created by Entrapta. They were a type of last resort. Just in case the Horde failed and needed some firepower. 

Adora sprinted to the thick of the fight, where several pawn robots were gathered in a charge position. As she took her stance, she thought back to Entrapta’s warnings and blueprints.

“I had them made specifically to be strong. They can’t fight that well, just smashing and barrelling towards you mostly. It’d be good if you were She-Ra for this, because if they hit your human body, your bones will practically shatter on impact.

“Destroying them is a little bit tricky, I made them into five separate groups, all the same, but with different cores. They have different shapes and positions that depend on their group.”

The rebels stared at her, mostly in fear and shock.

“It needed to be unpredictable.” She reasoned.

“And in any case,” She continued.

“I know where their cores are! You just need to stab them there. Adora, your sword may be able to sense First Ones tech, which is what those cores are infused with.”

Entrapta had recommended Catra and She-Ra fight up close, as Catra was light on her feet and able to dodge and outsmart the bots. She-Ra is their best warrior. Bow took on a sniper role and Glimmer took support, rescue and slight defence. She’d been eager to help, apparently.

Thinking of her team made her smile, morphing into a smirk as she took on the first bot, stabbing through its upper left on instinct. 

‘Good guess,’ she thought, moving on to the next two. They went down easily enough, though not without a fight. Adora had second-guessed herself, debating between lower right and hind legs for just a second too long.

There were only three left, and only one was moving. It moved fast like lightning, but in a straight, predictable line. As if it were sprinting down a tunnel. Adora closed her eyes, feeling her connection to her sword, and, pointing it tip-first at the bot, willing lasers to meet its core. The bot went down in seconds. Adora used it as a step, leaping off and onto one of the stationary robots.

Her sword came down through its head, cutting right through. She felt the exact second it ripped through the core, making a slight noise to signal death. The final, she found, was destroyed. Golden arrows of different shapes had hit all possible core spots, and had taken the bot down. She gave a thumbs-up to Bow. He winked back at her, nocking another arrow and aiming further out.

Adora gave a quick glance around her, finding combat drones in the air nearby. As soon as she noted it down and prepared herself to jump, Glimmer materialised out of thin air, driving her staff through one.

“Nice one!” She called, setting her sights on one of the others.

Throughout their time together, they had grown as friends, people and fighters. Angella would often compliment them on it. Bow had become fearless by utilising his selflessness and trust. He’d also become an amazing shot. (Nearly) every arrow hit the exact spot he wanted it to, and he was proud of it too. Glimmer had configured special moves with every princess and ally they had. She would teleport. They would attack. That was the usual gist of it.

Adora took out the surrounding drones and noticed Catra being cornered by tank bots and combat drones. She had faith in her, of course. But she couldn’t help but worry, what if she was hurt and couldn’t leap away, or—

Catra’s actions interrupted her train of thought. The feline had used the edge of a tank’s turret as a trampoline, jumping up onto a drone and scratching its exposed power source. She used its remains to crush another tank’s turret and hit out another drone. She was left with only two bots.

Adora smiled, her eyes glowing with adoration and love. Catra was going to be fine. She was one of their best fighters and strategists, after all.

Two tank bots forced Adora back into battle. But her mind still wandered around the subject of Catra. It seemed like a millennia had passed since they had been at odds, fighting one another with vicious claws and She-Ra. They both carried heavy hearts whenever they saw one another. Catra felt betrayed, heartbroken. Adora felt helpless; she would have to fight Catra and watch as her side of the war collapsed on her.

Adora was glad Catra joined her. Though, it didn’t happen without challenges.

She dodged a cannon-like laser and sprinted towards the turret in a zig-zag pattern. Their weakness was speed. As she reached it, she leapt into the air and brought her sword down for an arching cut. The turret was sliced off. Before it could recalibrate, Adora squatted and impaled it through the lower-centre.

‘One down, one to go!’ she thought, exhaling heavily.

She took a quick glance at Catra, and found her in mid-air, destroying a combat drone and then aiming for the others.

Pride filled her heart, and she turned back to her battle. Catra had grown so much. She was an excellent fighter when they were in the Horde together. She just lacked motivation. Mostly due to the Horde’s abuse, of course. Looking back at everything, Adora found it understandable. From Catra’s perspective, Adora left her for practically nothing. A falling rebellion and two friends was all she saw, and, at the time, she was right. 

“That’s why I refused to join you the first time,” Catra had said one night.

“Because the rebellion was so weak, and I knew what the Horde could- would do if I went to the rebellion. They would destroy it and torture me.

“But when you guys started winning, Hordak got angrier. He worked me to the bone and everyone was constantly breathing down my neck. It seemed like, if I screwed up just one more time, they were going to kill me. I wasn’t worthy enough.”

“Catra I—” Adora cut herself off, deciding instead to bring Catra in for a loving and protective embrace.

Catra curled into her, and Adora kissed the top of her head hard.

“I’m so glad you got yourself out of there. You’re so strong”

Adora looked back at the memory with a melancholy type of relief. Catra was awe-inspiring. She skipped the ranks of the Horde, from cadet, to Force Captain, to Second-in-Command to Lord Hordak. After she got there, she saw the Horde closing in on her. So she left. But, not without causing uproar and incredible chaos. She took Entrapta with her, of course. She dreaded leaving Scorpia, and pleaded with the princess to follow her. It was strange to Catra, how much she cared for Scorpia. Though she shared that care, she was conflicted. Catra brought up good points. But the Horde was her home, now, and how great could the rebellion be? Pretty great considering they always lose to them, but, she always figured they’d win. 

Join her fellow princesses, who rejected her, or stay with the one place she felt she belonged? It was an impossible choice in such a short time. Which is why she refused. Catra had explained it all in detail to Adora, refusing to let anyone see Scorpia in a bad light.

Adora was just happy she had made such a great friend.

After taking out the final tank. She raced further into the battle, cutting down drones and tanks alike. 

There was a sudden, loud creaking noise. Like an ancient door was being opened.

Then, from the direction of the noise came a flurry of robots. They were taller than Adora’s current She-Ra form, and most were built heavily, running at a slower pace than their thinner counterparts, who were racing towards Adora and Catra. High flyers. Adora saw some arrows fly into their faces and torsos. The only one that fell had a few arrows in its eyes and neck. 

In an instant, she was joined by Catra. They shared a nod, and Catra softly ran her nails down Adora’s arm. A signal of confidence.

The first two thin robots reached them, and Adora raised her sword high, aiming for its neck. Catra got a running start to jump on and off of the sword, using it as a boost, to reach its eyes. She clawed them out, making sure to cut deep.

Adora jumped to the next one, slicing its head clean off. The bot’s body hit the ground, and Catra landed on top of it with a smirk.

The five heavy high flyers were still trying to reach them, so Adora aimed her sword at their necks. It took a few lasers to break through the thick guard material, but she managed to get four out of five done.

Adora turned to Catra, who looked both prepared and smug. Adora picked her up, and, after a twirl for momentum, launched her at one of the robots. Catra landed with a thud. The bot leaned back on impact before Catra destroyed its eyes. 

She used its height to jump onto the next one’s arm. She climbed up the side. It was difficult, but, she managed. Its eyes were taken out.

Arrows flew to the furthest one from the right. The one with an in-tact neck. Glimmer teleported to Catra’s side, taking her to the top of the next robot.

Adora loved how in synch everyone was. They were so used to one another. They knew each person’s every move. Their fighting styles complemented each other, and Adora viewed them as the best team imaginable.

She especially loved how she and Catra fought together. Every exchange was wordless and the trusting looks they gave one another lifted her spirits every time.

When Catra had escaped the Horde, she hadn’t come straight to the Rebellion. She didn’t feel comfortable. It was upsetting to Adora, but she understood. Their relationship, at the time, was tattered, and the Rebellion wouldn’t have been welcoming to a high-ranking Horde soldier.

When Adora had found her in the middle of a Horde attack on Entrapta’s castle, she was weary. She assumed Catra had been at the centre of it. When she saw Entrapta with her, taking things from her own lab, she was shocked. It had been a year since Entrapta’s death. The wounds, proved to be somewhat fresh when Adora broke down and switched to her human form. Glimmer and Bow had cried.

Entrapta had treated them coldly. All she knew is that they abandoned her. Adora sighs when remembering the events that came afterwards. They brought them to the Rebellion. No one trusted them and they trusted no one. It was tense, those first few weeks.

Reconnecting had been hard. After reuniting with Entrapta and explaining to her what they saw, she was still cold. She remained distant until they visited Perfuma. She had sent out a distress call, and Adora had begged Angella to allow Catra and Entrapta with them. 

When Entrapta saw Perfuma’s statue of her, she was speechless. Little by little, she began socialising again. She was bubbly and fast-paced as always, but with a more careful way of going about things.

Catra had been a different case.

The final high flyer fell, thanks to the teamwork of Bow and Catra.

Catra panted heavily, and Adora heaved a large exhale as she switched to her human form.

“Great job guys!” She called to them. Glimmer appeared with a smiling Bow.

“You guys looked so cool while fighting! I thought Catra was gonna fall, though,” He laughed.

“He panicked and nearly fired a net arrow to ‘save her’.” Glimmer teased.

“Hey! It was a high drop!”

“It was twelve feet, she’s dropped from thirty before and been fine.”

“Still,” He huffed, cheeks slightly pink.

They laughed together as Bow rolled his eyes. Adora looked out happily at the people she loved most. They really had become a family.

“What’re you looking at, lover girl?” Catra asked, a sly smile on her face and a teasing glint in her eyes.

“A group of beautiful, strong, independent people who are the bravest soldiers in the rebellion. And a cat.” Adora said, grinning back.

Catra stuck her tongue out and shoved her playfully, earning a jab in return. Glimmer rolled her eyes and pushed them apart before they could escalate their play fight.

“No, nope, stop, no.” The princess said, shaking her head slightly.

“But why?” Catra asked, dragging out the ‘y’.

“Because the last time you two did this you ended up having an actual battle. Then you made out on my floor.”

“We aren’t on your floor this time!”

“Don’t care, we have to get back to Bright Moon. We have the meeting in… she looked up at the sun, trying to discern the time.”

“Do… do none of us have a watch?” Bow asked, scanning his group in disbelief.

“Uh,” Catra said.

“Well you see…” Glimmer began, not prepared to continue.

“I was going to bring one, but Catra got in my way.” Adora said. 

“Hey!”

“It’s the truth!”

“No it’s not!”

“Yes it is!”

“Is not!” 

“Okay, we have either five minutes, or we’re late by ten.” Glimmer said, turning back to the group with a smile.

“… how far away are we?” Bow asked, panic levels rising.

“About… twenty minutes?” Catra said, trying to remember their trek from Bright Moon to their current location.

“… run.” Glimmer said, not eager to make her mother more stressed or angry.

“No! Wait, Glimmer can teleport Bow and Adora and I can run,” Catra said, thinking quickly

“Good plan, Glimmer, go!” Adora yelled, beginning her run with Catra by her side.

She heard a yell of ‘wait’, and the unmistakeable sound of Glimmer teleporting. She smiled wider. About two minutes into their run, Adora noticed the colossal gap between her and Catra. The feline was 17 feet in front of her. At this rate, Catra would have to slow down so Adora could keep up with her. 

‘Why didn’t we bring Swift Wind?’ She thought, trying to remember the way back and if there were any shortcuts.

Minute more and Adora was panting heavily. The uneven ground and the fast pace was hard to keep up with, added to the weight of the sword on her back, and… wait.

‘The sword.’ She thought. ‘She-Ra’.

Adora internally berated herself. Why she hadn’t realised that sooner was beyond her, and she made a mental note to take some strategy notes when she got back.

“Catra!” She called. The girl in question slowed, waiting for Adora to catch up.

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

“Optimistic as ever, I see.” 

“Oh shut up. Seriously, though, what’s wrong?”

“It’s hard for me to keep up, but it’ll be fine for She-Ra. Plus I can carry you on my back.”

“… good thinking.” Catra said, albeit reluctantly.

Adora unsheathed the sword and yelled out her catchphrase. Catra watched on, enjoying the show. No matter how long it had been, and how many times she’d seen it, Catra would always stop to watch Adora turn into She-Ra. She would only ever respond to questions about it with ‘I’m a lesbian, and she’s and eight-foot-tall, buff warrior woman with Adora’s personality.’ Which was, admittedly, great reasoning.

She-Ra kneeled in front of Catra, who saved the image into her brain, and grinned.

“Hop on, kitty cat.” 

Catra scoffed, but obeyed, enjoying the feeling of being picked up to She-Ra’s height. The hair was a downside. But the experience made up for it.

“So this is what it feels like to be freakishly tall, huh?” She yelled over the wind in their ears. She-Ra was moving fast. 

“You say that every time,” Adora yelled back, smile growing in size.

She loved to carry Catra. During the beginning of their relationship in the rebellion, they were both uncertain of one another’s boundaries. A lot had changed since their Horde days. But, after a few discussions, they got right back into the swing of things.

In training, Adora picked up Catra for the first time in months. It was a rescue scenario, and, afterwards, Catra had demanded to be picked up a lot more. She called it exhilarating and fun. And who was Adora to deny her that fun? They created team moves around Catra being picked up. If Catra wanted to go somewhere, Adora would either grab her hand or pick her up. It she could just barely not reach something, or if she was too lazy to reach for it, she would find Adora and be picked up.

She loved it, and so did Adora. Adora felt trusted, and was very careful to ensure Catra’s safety. Catra felt loved. It was like they were back into their old dynamic, but in better circumstances and more honesty and communication and all that good relationship stuff.

Catra whooped at the top of her lungs, and Adora shouted with her. They may have scared a traveller. Or two. But it was worth it, and they would get over it.

“I wish I could sit on your shoulders!” Catra yelled.

“In the training room of course. Right now, though,” She began, ducking under a branch.

“Not the best time, I know.” Catra said.

“Yeah… hey we should be getting close, can you look through the trees for the castle?” Adora asked, picking up her pace.

“Yeah, of course.” 

Mere seconds passed with Adora ducking and weaving before she hear a loud ‘THWACK’ and a yelp from behind. Her eyes grew wide.

“Catra, are you okay?” She shouted, forcing down the feeling in her throat.

“I can’t believe you just let me get smacked in the face with a branch.”

Adora forced the feeling down again, though it grew quickly in her chest.

“Are you hurt?”

“Nope, just my pride.”

That was it. Adora couldn’t take it a second longer. She smiled and unleashed a long line of thunderous laughter, undeterred by Catra’s curses and wacks on her shoulders.

“I hate you.” Catra said, after Adora quietened. Her cheeks were red and her eyes were glued to the ground. She slowly pressed closer to Adora. Just to ensure that she a, wouldn’t get hit again, and b, wouldn’t get called out for being cautious by Adora.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” They had reached a small clearing, and the castle was only about 100 yards away.

Adora turned her head to reach Catra’s, and planted a small kiss on her forehead. Catra swatted her away, still embarrassed.

“It’s just really funny.” 

“I am literally never speaking to you again.” Catra said.

“Oh woe is me!” Adora yelled. They had reached the castle.

She fell to her knees, wailing in despair and shifting back into human form.

“How shall I ever recover?” She continued as Catra stepped off of her.

“You’re so embarrassing, get up.” She said in a light-hearted tone.

“I cannot, for my love—” Catra grabbed her by the collar.

“Is sick of your spiel and doesn’t want to be late for the meeting, now let’s go.” Catra said, dragging her around the side of the castle and through the gates. Adora had long-since gotten up. Catra didn’t care too much and swapped from her collar to her wrist.

When they reached the meeting room fashionably late, they were greeted by relieved stares and one frustrated glare.

“Adora, Catra.” Angella addressed them.

“How kind of you to join us.” The Queen sounded exasperated, and the couple knew not to take her words to heart.

They joined the rest of the rebellion at the table and the meeting resumed.

 

-

 

“… and so I was thinking, if Perfuma can grow plants, can she create new ones? And if she can, how terrifying can they get? Can she create a poisonous gas plant and just demolish the entire world? Or can she create a massive flytrap kind of plant, only it eats people, so it’s a peopletrap. How crazy would that be?” Catra was joking around and sharing a half-kidding theory with Adora on their shared bed.

Adora listened intently, liking how free and gleeful Catra sounded.

She never did get the childhood she deserved, so Adora wanted to fill their teenage and adult years with as much joy as possible, so Catra would have something to smile about. 

“The war would be over in seconds, Perfuma and her army of peopletraps would rule the world. I think, if they could move really fast, they could destroy She-Ra too.”

“Really?” Catra asked, giving the scenario a thought.

“Yeah, I see it now, it wouldn’t be too hard.”

“Hey!” Adora said.

“What? I’m just thinking about the facts here.”

“You should give me a little more credit.”

“Hell no. I live with you, I’ve seen you try to hatch eggs we were meant to use for food.”

“They were going to be our children, Catra! But you,” She poked an accusatory finger into Catra’s chest.

“Just had to go and eat them.”

Adora glared are her for a moment and Catra returned her stare with a squint. They quickly broke out into laughter.

“I can’t take you seriously when you look like that.” Catra said between their shared giggles.

Their noise died off and they were left in a comfortable silence. They stared into each other’s eyes with shared loving looks, happy with their day.

“Hey Catra,” Adora said, leaning in ever-so-slightly.

“Yeah Adora?” Catra said, leaning in considerably more.

“I love you.” 

“You’re such a loser.” Catra responded as their lips met.

They grinned into the kiss, losing themselves in each other.

Adora kissed with pressure, like she was grounding Catra, forcing her to stay in the moment. As if she would every try to leave it.

Catra kissed quickly and eagerly. Adora felt something new at every turn and movement.

They fit well together, and they knew it. No matter what, they would always be together, and no war could tear them apart. Though the First One’s temple had screamed at Adora to let go of Catra all those months ago, though Lord Hordak and Shadow Weaver had drilled Adora’s supposed distaste and abandonment for her into her mind so long ago, they did not let go. They did not stop trying or believing in one another.

And their relationship, in their opinions, is one of the best things to come out of their growth and their bond.


End file.
